Running Dictation in Spanish

A comprehensible input game for regular or hybrid classes!

Running dictation is a game I’ve heard about and seen played in language classrooms for a few years. Now that I’m in a school with a full comprehensible input style curriculum, I wanted to try it with my own Spanish students. My school is currently hybrid, so I created two versions of the activity: one for in person and one for virtual students.

How to play

Students work in teams of 3-4.
They take turns running out into the hall to find a sentence from the story. They memorize it and come back to relay it to their teammates.
Another teammate writes down the sentence that has been dictated.
The third student draws a picture based on the sentence,
The next student runs into the hall for the next sentence.
The first team done, with the fewest mistakes, wins!

Introducing the story

In my class, we started by reading this story:

I wrote this story based on student interests (video games) and because I wanted them to practice hearing and reading the J sound. I read the story aloud to them the first time. Then we re-read the story, but I called on a different student to read each sentence. Lastly, we read again in English, to make sure we understood everything. In my biggest class, I sent students into breakout rooms or off to read with a partner so everyone could have a turn.

Running Dictation

The next day, I set up the running dictation activity with the same story. I wrote out each sentence on a notecard and labeled them 1-6. Then I taped those cards spread out in the hallway.

I explained the rules to the students and passed out a comic strip template for them to draw on. It went really well and we were able to socially distance ourselves while playing a team game, with movement!

This team finished early, but confused the order of the story. I sent the team back in the hall together to check their work. Otherwise, they would not have their paper with them!

Virtual Running Dictation

For my online students, I put the running dictation activity in Peardeck. I recorded my voice reading each statement and asked them to type what they heard and draw it out. I was then able to log into Peardeck and check their work to make sure they understood as well. It wasn’t quite as interactive or movement based, but they still received the same content as the in-person students!